Rate: 3/5
” In a world that is small enough for the same moon to hang over us both, we can’t ever be too far apart.”
Selina Lennox is a “Bright Young Thing,” or a rich socialite that all of London has their eye on. Lawrence Weston is an average painter who meets her by a rare chance. Both of their lives change immeasurably, but is Lawrence’s ambition enough to earn him a lasting spot in the life of a girl who is always one step away from a scandal? Set in the time between the first World War and before the second, this book spans twenty years and tells the tale of a forbidden romance.
“Someone once told me that a woman’s body is like a piano. It’s up to the man whether he chooses to pick out a nursery rhyme with one finger, or learn how to play a symphony.”
I’m a sucker for historical fiction, it’s my favorite kind of book to read. I was excited to start on the Glittering Hour because of it’s setting in London before World War II. Overall I was slightly disappointed. I found it highly predictable from beginning to end. I picked it because of the historical fiction genre but I found it should have been labeled under romance. I don’t mind a good romance novel, but I’m not overly fond of them. The characters made choices that you knew they were gonna make, there was no shock value for me anywhere in the book. It was a slow burner, eased you slowly into the world and setting, taking, in my opinion, too long to start the drama.
“We’re all going to die sometime – that’s a fact. And the only thing one can do to cheat death is to live properly. Bravely. Love wholly. Living instead of just existing -“
If you enjoy a period-piece romance, you will definitely enjoy this book. Grey is a lovely author and even though I’m not a huge fan of the book in general, her writing style is lovely and nice to follow. I would definitely read more books from her.
We're All Mad Here 